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history or policy. Or than when I’m making an argument.
Do you write straight through a project, or do you stop and start, reading over and editing the
work as you go?
I try to write a book in sequence. I used to start each morning by reading from the beginning of
whatever I had written, but I don’t do that anymore because I’m more confident of my voice, or more
sure of my progress, or . . . you know, I really don’t know why. But there are points when I just can’t
stand to look behind me; I’ve got to focus on what’s ahead. Now I’m more likely to write through to
the end of a section before I let myself read what I’ve done.
Once you’ve started writing, how do you organize the rest of your day?
I seldom spend more than a couple of hours at my desk without taking a walk or a run, doing
errands, etc. In a productive day I may have three two-hour periods when I’m actually writing.
How do you end the day?
At the end of each day I type myself a brief note at the end of the manuscript, using capital letters,
describing what I want to do the next morning. I’m always nervous that I’ll lose my train of thought,
though I almost never do. I guess I’m superstitious.
Is there any physical place you need to be in order to write?
I don’t need to be at my own desk. In fact, sometimes that is the worst place to be, because of all
the distractions, like bills and phone calls.
One thing I’ve learned is that a room with a view is not necessarily a good thing for writing. The
most productive I’ve ever been was when I was using the upstairs of a neighbor’s garage to write
Coyotes. My desk had a view of a blank wall, which is really what you want: no distractions.
Any time of day you especially like to write?
I tend to get going in the late morning and am usually tired by late afternoon. I seldom write at
night. I don’t write in the early morning unless I have a tight deadline and have to.
Almost everything you’ve written has been in the first person. Could you imagine writing as,
say, a third-person, omniscient narrator?
I’m in the middle of writing a novel in the third person. I’ve written many articles that are third
person, or just lightly first person, because those were cases where I didn’t think my presence added
much to the piece.
But the first person is how I best tell a story. Because my persona is so often that of the “witness,”
not using the first person would make me feel like a left-handed person who was forced to use his